http://poortorichadayatatime.blogspot.com. I am having problems figuring everything out. So have put Carrie's blogspot in this little add on for todays blog. Carrie has been so helpful trying to talk me through this ( just dense, and not very teck savey) , indeed it is like me trying to speek Greek when my own language is a problem! Anyway love your Blog Carrie, and if I can just find my own I'll be able to find yours now too!

Carrie at "Poor to Rich one day at a time" was writing about shopping and said that contrary to what most posts tell you that you should "Yes Bring the Kids and Spouse Grocery Shopping!" That got me thinking about growing up and going shopping with my Family. I remember my Family going shopping for groceries every second Friday when I was growing up. There were just 3 of us for years, then my Grandma came to live with us and there were 4 of us. Friday that was shopping day was anticipated all the last week long! It was tradition! We made the list, and we all had input as to what we needed. Then we went to the store in the Car! We went to our little Mall, and it had 4 stores, The Bank , where Mom got the cash from Dad’s check. Next we went to the Chinese restaurant, and had our supper (Moms one night she didn’t cook!!!!) 99% of the time I ordered chow mien! The others usually ordered the special. Usually it was soup of the day, bread and butter put on the table when you ordered, and it was enough for everyone at the table to have a slice, and if you ate all that they would refill the plate ( everyone’s bread was on the same plate!) The odd time the cook would have made buns, but that was a real extra treat and didn’t happen often. Their meal would be hot roast pork ( or beef) sandwich with mashed potatoes, and veggie (peas, corn, carrots, or a mix of the three, once in a while it was beets), and a slice of tomato on the side of the plate. Dessert came with the meal either a home made pudding or a Jell-O, these were served in a small dish. and tea or coffee was always included in the meal price. The food was always good and the waiter always was smiling and saying “ you like, you like”. I miss that still, it was just a local dive, but what wonderful food, and they were always glad to see you. Once in a long while Dad would break tradition and order Liver and Onions, it came with all the same things, just liver and onions instead of the pork/beef on the bread with gravy. Next we went to the main grocery store, and we all went up one isle and down the next and would stop to discuss which brand of an item to buy and why and price. After we finished this event , Dad would march us to the Cheese counter and decide which new Cheese we would try ( this was our treat night ,don’t you know, and later we would try a sliver of new cheese, with pickles and soda crackers for an evening snack, really late at night, maybe 10 o’clock! And we would all go in the kitchen and sit at the table and Dad would open the cheese and cut it, ( Mom would have set the table with bread and butter plates, and put out a plate of crackers on the table and a small dish of bread and butter pickles for the ladies and a jar of Banana pickles for Dad.) and we would have our treat. Once Dad opened a beer cheese. It stunk so bad we were all gagging , he turned opened the back door and threw it as far as he could throw it! LOL, we never forgot that! Mom, just got up and brought out the cheddar cheese and the feast went on. Anyway, back to shopping, after we had the groceries we went to the last store in our little mall. The Butchers. Mom would pay her 25 cents into the Christmas fund and get the little rubber stamp put in her book, then she’d order what she wanted 1 item at a time, and she actually would point out which chops she wanted or how much ground meat she wanted in each package ( according to what she planned to make). Getting the meat at the Butcher was the last stop before we headed home ( about 6 blocks away). and it would have taken us from about 4 in the afternoon, till about 7 in the evening. Then we would go home and everything would be put away. Then and only then , we could start getting ready for our cheese party! From then till the next shopping night we would get milk, butter, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, cream and such from the milk man. He came twice a week. The Bread man came twice a week too, but Mom didn’t buy much because she usually baked treats and buns ( not bread as such so much). Then Mr. Yen Soo, would come and she would get some fresh vegetables, and fruits from him, whatever was in season. Mr. Soo would have lovely veggies and would be able to tell you the best way to cook them and he also watched our gardenia and told Mom what to do if it wasn’t looking so good, he was a lovely Man. We had our own garden too, but not the variety of veggies that came in his truck! Oh, and in the early fall the fishermen came and sold salmon at the door. Mom would buy a couple and then the canner would come out and she would can salmon for Dad’s lunches. That night we always had a fish for supper, and later in the week fish soup. So Yes Bring the Kids and Spouse Grocery Shopping, and make traditions that the whole family will remember years later! Things are so different today, and 50 to 60 years from now what we do as everyday things your Kids will remember as wonderful and miss them too. Perhaps by then we will have a metal dispenser in our homes and it will dispense a perfect serving sized item for you to eat, with limited choice of what that is. .... I sure hope not.

December 16, 2011, this evenings fun

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, oh, sorry it was just today!
This evening to be exact. After supper was over, and we were enjoying a nice light snow in our country home ( sounds really posh! for our country shack!).
Our little dog wanted out, and in and out and in. To the point I was ready to ring her little neck, but can’t do that just look into her sweet brown eyes, and open the door yet again. Now our little girl hears things we do not, and when she does she wants us to know all about it. While she has a human vocabulary of understanding of about 200 words, I have not gotten that proficient in dog, only knowing certain signals that she has trained me to, with a reward ( no pee or poo to clean up if I get it right!). So I quickly learned in and out signals. Here again for the 4th time in less than an hour was the out signal. So I opened the door ..... MISTAKE !!!!
Here I must interrupt my self to mention we also have a cat. A lovely cat, kills lots of mice, rats, and things like that and drops them off at the back door for me ( well, I’d rather that than him bring them in like he used to before we kept the window shut!).
So back to the story,
The dog had me butler the door again and then she sat just inside the door as the cat flew past me at a great speed. The dog still sat, and didn’t want out, just letting me know the cat wanted in. so I turned around to go back in the kitchen and a furry blob scooted up the wall beside me! I jumped back and had a better look and it was a squirrel. Now I must tell you I am not a critter remover, he was laying down in bed watching the TV. So I called him in for critter duty. However , no one communicated our wishes to Squirrel. Now Squirrel was some upset with cat, me and now DH. Squirrel didn’t wait for dh to get it out, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, squirrel headed for the living room and under the big chair with cat in hot pursuit. Dh, by this time is up and on Critter catching mode. I am busy shutting doors to bedrooms, and bathroom and computer room! Then back to help Dh move the Chair, which we accomplished with quick movement, but not quick enough, Squirrel was up the chair and over the top and jumped on Dh back holding on to this weird tree for all it was worth. Dh stayed bent over and yelling “grab the ***!!@#*!! Squirrel " so I did.
Well, I tell you that Squirrel was not impressed with my helping at all! It sank teeth and nails into the back of my hand while I held it by the back of the neck with the other hand, and I ran to the back door and put my hand down on the outside freezer, and the Squirrel finally realized it had reached freedom and I swear it bit my hand harder to say “**!!**#@ You lady”! Then it flew off the back porch. I headed for the bathroom and washed my hand and ran the cold water over it to help slow the bleeding, then grabbed a clean wash cloth to apply pressure as it started to swell with blood flowing under the skin. Got the bleeding stopped and the punctures (7) covered with Polysporin (sp?) .
Now the pain is just about gone, and I realized I am a hero! I’ve never been a hero, I saved the Squirrel ( ungrateful thing) , and Dh ( and if he thinks I’m going to let him forget how I took that beast off his back and fought my way from the living room to the back porch enduring excruciating pain all the way,...... well, it did hurt a little... He can think again!)
Oh, yes, Ken’s back is fine, the dog has stopped asking me to man the door, and the cat is eating dried cat food and giving me the evil eye!
And how was your evening a week before Christmas?

first tomatoe showing in the greenhouse!

First tomato showing in the greenhouse today! What a lovely surprise. Friends all have tomatoes, but they bought theirs from the store already in flower. These are grown from seed in the greenhouse! I also have lettuce ready to eat in the greenhouse.
The garden is the slowest it has ever been. However the past 2 days has seen beets, carrots, romaine lettuce, all sprout. The peas have been up almost 2 weeks, and this morning there were no cucumbers up, but this evening 2 have broken the ground. The other end of the garden has most of the potatoes up and doing well, then there is the corn. Or should I say what corn. I didn't plant as much this year just 3 short rows about 24 seeds in all. 2 only 2 have sprouted and grown. That is a terrible average. I also planted a lot of flower seeds, so far the marigolds, sunflowers and zinnias and windmill flowers ( that's not their proper name, but for the life of me I can't remember the name just now, and I just remember someone calling them windmill flowers years ago).
Then I also have 10 tomato plants from seeds that I grew in the greenhouse ( actually all these are ones that self grew from tomatoes in the greenhouse last year!), they are far behind the ones in the greenhouse and I very much doubt they will have tomatoes this year. It has been too cold at nights and the past 3 days are the first really warm days we've had.
Today Chad and Kaylee are getting married. The Polzin family are all down for the wedding. I hope they will have a great marriage. Chad's Mom and Dad are the people we bought this house from. It seems funny to see the young boy that lived here grown up and a man now. Even funnier that Jessie their youngest boy is graduated this year, the same as my Michale's daughter Jessica! That year must have been the year to name children Jessie's! LOL, that is strange how we go through name phases, even my Michaele, that time period everyone seemed to name their daughter's Michelle, I just spelt it different.
Yesterday was Canada day. quiet and only heard the ambulance sirens once. I hate holidays for all the accidents on the highway near us. So far it doesn't sound bad this year.
We've been cutting the wood we had delivered and I will stack some tomorrow. It will take us all summer but if we do a little everyday we will get it all done by fall for winter.

planting the garden, day 2

Another lovely day. It is reading 20C. outside, and the sun is shining! It was supposed to rain last evening, but nothing materialized, however the garden is still very wet.
I planted a row of yellow ( bush) wax beans today and ended the row with 2 hills of zuchini. Then by the potatoes I planted 2 more rows of potatoes, mainly pontiac, netted gem , and micmac( just a few of these). At least that's the names I was given for the potatoes. So lots of baby potatoes comming up, to be served , skins on with butter and dill, oh, I can taste them allready! At the end of each row I planted several corn seeds. Then to make a block of corn I planted another row of flowers and the end I planted the corn so there is a block 3 rows wide and 12 to 15 corn in each row. I figure if half grow I will have a few nice feeds of fresh corn.
So that's todays little work in the garden.

Late Garden!

Today I started planting the main garden. This is the latest I think that I have ever started! The ground is still wet. But Ed ploughed up the soil twice and I left it a couple of days since the last ploughing because of the rain. The creek is flooding and since the garden is just a foot or so higher than the creek it is very wet. Usually the creek is about a yard lower than the garden ( there is a distance of a good 100 or more feet from the creek more like yards I guess).

Any way I planted several 18 ft rows. first was beets, then carrots 15 feet, and 3 feet of romain lettuce, then a double row of peas 18 ft each, with just enough space between the rows to put up my pea fence. then comes a 18 ft row of spinach. There is room for at least another 3 rows in that area.

Next is a space about a yard and a half for a path between the sides of the garden, and then I started a row of potatoes ( seed given me by Dot and Ed) I planted about a 45 foot row then space for the roto tiller at the end of the garden for ease in turning. The garden proper is 70 feet by 45 feet ( close as I can pace out).This is the south end of the garden and the furthest away from the creek. I plan on planting another 1 or 2 rows of potatoes there, then 4 short rows of corn, I still have beans to plant Scarlet runners and some yellow wax beans ,Zuchini, acorn squash just a couple of plants for me as dh doesn't like them, Then another little row of beets and carrots. Some dill, and more later plantings of lettuce, oh and transplant my tomatoes out of the green house to the garden, also need to plant some cucumbers and radishes.

The green house has 3 tomatoe plants in bloom, 4 green pepper plants ready to bloom, 3 med. hot pepper plants just planted and so far not doing anything, lettuce up and soon ready to eat, lettuce planted a week ago and not up yet, basil, several hanging baskets of small tomatoes, and I need to plant some cucumbers in the green house at least 2.

Picture is last fall the North end of the garden and the raspberry plants.

Company has arrived and so will close for today.

Another year!

Since my last post so much has happened and the time is gone! It goes so fast and the older I get the faster time goes! Last June DH had his second hip operation. Not only that he suffered a Heart Attack on the operating table. It has been a very hard year on him. So with his many different health issues we just go one day at a time and enjoy each day as much as we can. With our wonderful friends we have managed to stay put and with luck will do so for a few more years. But who knows what the future will bring. I am planning a little smaller garden for this summer, but looking forward so much to the warm weather. Just now it is snowing yet again. The past few days has been snow, rain, snow, sun and for a short time this afternoon we even had hail! For goodness sake this is April already! What got me thinking of the Blog today was my stove! what a connection, and yet there it is, I got up this morning and baked bran muffins. But they took forever to bake. That's when we found the bottom electric coil was broken, so we had to order a new one and that will arrive tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime supper had to be done without using the oven. ( no big deal, but did mean a change in menu). Yesterday on an unexpected trip to town with DH I stopped at our grocery store ( If I am in town I always stop, rather than have to drive into town again for a forgotten item..... I keep a list on the go all the time of things we need or that are running low, just in case I am in town and I can skip the next shopping day). While in the store looking for onions, and mushrooms I saw huge Cauliflowers on sale for $1.69 each! They looked nicer than any I have seen in a long time. I bought 2.) So that made me think today of Cauliflower soup, and Tina's Cream of Cauliflower soup is one I wrote up on my blog a couple of years ago in July. So to the blog I went to retrieve the recipe. I did change and instead of milk and cream I just used 1 tin of evaporated milk. And the soup...... wonderful! We both enjoyed our supper very much and will have another bowl of soup a little later before bed as a bed time snack. Oh, and another treat, we used our new dishes, DH got me with our little income tax return. Our old dishes were pretty sad, an we were using 2 old sets that were getting worse for wear and breaking quite often lately. Our old dishes served us well for between 24 and 25 years ( I can't quite remember when we got them, but when we moved to the house before this we already had them! So I know it's over 24 year ago.) Now I must head off in another direction. My friend Mary Ann is always telling me I should write, as she likes my rambling ways. So dear freind Mary Ann , this is for you, and I will try and be more faithful in writing than I was previously.